I was doing a little reading across various websites earlier today, and was astounded by the multitude of methods and formats available for receiving BI. It could be 'pushed' to me via email or browser link; 'pulled' by me from a website or netsork folder; it could be dropped on my desktop; it could be available on a Blackberry, iPhone, or other mobile device... And then there were so many ways for it to be viewed! Dashboards, reports, analytics, charts, maps...
With all these methods to receive information, I sometimes wonder what we did before we had them!
And then I pause and think about how many of these I need. How many of them can I act on?
The point here isn't to suggest that all of these various avenues to get information aren't relevant. As someone whose livelihood is predicated on the value of good information (for me and for my clients), I absolutely believe that good information is imperative to business success.
But there's a big difference between having twenty tools streaming information to me, cluttering my mind with minute details that are interesting but irrelevant as compared to having one or two pieces of high-value, timely information on which I can act.
To me, this is something like what Stephen Covey was talking about when he explained his Time Management Matrix - comparing the Urgency of things to their Importance. I'll call mine the Importance/Actionability Matrix! :)
Too many people believe that more information is better, when in reality ACTIONABLE information is better!
What's your take on this?
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